So do people like Stephen A. Smith now?

[RoxSteady]

Several years ago, almost any mentioning of Stephen A. Smith's name would be responded to with a groan, an eye roll, and/or complaining about how annoying, contentious, unreliable, wrong-headed he is. I understand the point of having him on TV has always been to evoke a big response.

Now you see his face used in memes all the time, but in a way that suggest he's funny, not in a way that disparages him. And back in April, people seemed to respond to the news that he signed that massive contract with an attitude along the lines of, "good for him."

Did things change?

[TacoLord]

I like watching him cry about the Knicks, does that count?

[Goudelock]

I think he's an annoying blowhard who gets far too much exposure, and I never take any of his opinions seriously.

But at the same time, I've read about how hard he had to work to get where he is today, and I can't help but respect that.

[TheNewEra]

Always been love/hate for the guy but he’s entertaining. From the Kwame Brown trade rant to being groomed to take over first take he has put the work in. Some people still might not like him but you have to respect his work ethic he earned that contract and is working even more now.

I’ve always been happy for the dude even when I disagree

[Dominator83]

I don't think anybody really hates him. The screamin A thing is a gimmick and it works. The thing he gets picked on the most for is that he's almost always wrong on his "scoops".

[First Step]

He's more of a personality than a sports analyst.

[BodieB]

He's good at what he does.

[Ckay]

Watch on YouTube

[Freighttrain]

I rarely agree with his takes, but I admire his work ethic. He's also probably one of the few people that keep ESPN from falling of the cliffs.

The despair in his voice when talking about the Knicks and Dolan is also pretty entertaining.

[Forte IV]

I respect a guy who gets payed 10 million to overreact and troll. That's life goals right there.

[OdomFan]

He's still cool in my book. He's there to be an entertainer and he's good at that.

[Chris Porter's Hair]

I think he's an idiot, but there are a lot of idiots I don't hate. I perhaps hate ESPN for deciding at some point they'd largely stop being an actual source of sports news, and instead try to profit by having loud personalities say ridiculous things in an effort to get a reaction.

[miamiheat319]

Oh god no

[mixerball]

id like to believe people know and dont care about clowns like sas, but in reality they love this clickbait, hottakes, shouting, ignorant and far fetched theories they ve been feeding us.

[Harry Garris]

He's a personality more than an analyst. I enjoy his personality personally. It's not for everyone. The people who try to take him too seriously and get mad at him for being too hot-takey are being ridiculous though. You're obviously not going to get serious basketball analysis from him so why be mad at him for not being that guy?

[LLJ]

No, he's still a dumbass but I respect his hustle. He may not be the smartest guy in the room but he tries his best to beat everyone else to the ball. So we can grudgingly respect him for that.

[Moon Walk]

All those in mommy's basement would love to meet him one day. You would love to get one of those selfies and autographs.

[Ballerhogger]

Hes entertaing guy.

[knicks512]

He's basically a knee-jerk reacting RealGM poster with a national platform. How can any of us hate on that?

PS - I hate him.

[BeatDaCavs420]

He's like the HHH of sports casters...The heel you love to hate

Great at what he does though